


it's only in your head you feel left out (everything will be just fine)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: this could be good (love is patient, love is kind) [26]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Jungle Fury, Power Rangers S.P.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But surprisingly angst-free, Cameos, F/F, F/M, First Dates, Fran is Bridge's Aunt, I mean I just love Jungle Fury, M/M, Multi, Pizza, Polyamory, Post-Canon, This is where I start to fold all the fics in this series together, Wish Fulfillment, Worldbuilding, a little bit of angst on Sky's behalf, for both Jungle Fury and S.P.D., hand holding, mentions of Mystic Force, mostly just fun, well first date for all five of them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 00:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: When Grumm is still undefeated, it's very hard to find any time in which the five Soulmates can be off their shifts two or three at a time, much less all five of them. It only really happens once, and they all decide to go on a date to a magic show- but then monsters attacked and Syd got possessed and so they've pretty much agreed to ignore that the whole thing happened.After Grumm is defeated, they decide to try for Date #2 with all five of them.“I know the perfect restaurant," Bridge says, "Anyone other than Syd ever been to Ocean Bluff?”"Nope," Jack says, "What're you suggesting?"Bridge grins.(Bridge's aunt is Fran. This leads to some fun.)





	it's only in your head you feel left out (everything will be just fine)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World.

_Don't write yourself off yet_

_It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on_

_Just do your best_

_Do everything you can_

_And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say_  
  
_It just takes some time_

_Everything, everything will be just fine_

_Everything, everything will be alright_

**_-Jimmy Eat World,_ The Middle**

“So,” Syd says a few days after they defeat Grumm, “Since our first attempt at a group date was so disastrously horrible and we don’t have Grumm to deal with anymore, you four think we could try this thing again this weekend?”

“Sure,” Bridge says, “I know the perfect restaurant, too. Anyone other than Syd ever been to Ocean Bluff?”

"Nope," Jack says, "What're you suggesting?"

Bridge grins.

-

Bridge finds himself outside of Headquarters a few days later as his Soulmates all exit the building into the parking lot. He watches them, taking note of all of their outfits. It's not something he'd normally notice- he likes to look at his Soulmates' faces, as their expressions are normally far more important to him than fashion- but it is somewhat strange to find themselves all in civilian clothing. From Syd's pink and gold dress to Bridge's blazer to Sky's blue button-down to Jack's leather jacket to Z’s yellow tank top and cropped jacket, their team looks a lot more like individuals than they ever do when on the job. And Bridge likes it, to be honest.

When she sees them, Z smiles. “You all look rather gorgeous tonight,” she says, linking arms with Syd, whose hair is pulled back in an intricate series of braids and curls.

“Don't we always?” Jack says with a grin, and Sky nudges him in the upper arm.

"Says Mr. Perfect Face And Hair," Sky says, and Jack shrugs.

"Can't argue with that," Jack says.

“You better not be slighting the amount of effort I had to put into energizing all of your fashion choices and hairdos, Mister,” Syd scolds, shaking a finger at Jack as they head to the car.

Jack just smiles and shakes his head. “Never would, Miss Drew."

They reach the car- the one that Syd's fathers bought her and Bridge a few years back, actually, that only gets used for Bridge to drive home to Ocean Bluff or for Syd to drive to her fathers' house- and Bridge immediately swerves from the front seat.

“Jungle Karma Pizza,” Bridge instructs as he climbs into the backseat. “Ocean Bluff. Somebody else gets to drive.”

“Well,” Syd says, “I call shotgun!” She then zips around the car to get into the front, leaving Z, Sky, and Jack standing next to the car.

“I guess I'll drive,” Jack says, watching the two of them with amusement.

Bridge is sitting in the middle, so Sky and Z each get it on either side of the car. Bridge grins. He's not as much of a cuddle whore as Jack is, but he does love holding multiple of his Soulmates’ hands at one time. They are the only people who he ever gets to hold the bare hands of- he's going to take advantage.

“So,” Sky says after he buckles up, because clearly he’s the only one wondering (and also clearly that this is just one of those facts the others learned when they were all kids and Sky’s Marks weren’t showing up), “Why Jungle Karma Pizza?”

“My Aunt Fran’s friends with the owners,” Bridge says, sliding his bare hand into Sky’s and revelling at the small feelings of affection that thrum through him. “We went there all the time when I was a kid, and I loved it. I took Syd a couple of years ago on an off weekend and she said she loved it, so I thought it was a pretty good assumption that you all would too.”

“Yeah, Casey’s really nice,” Syd pipes up from the front seat. “And the pizza’s pretty good too.”

Bridge takes Z’s hand in his free one, and he enjoys the rush of warm feelings from her as well. His gloves are tucked in his back pocket, and for the next half hour or so- until they reach JKP's- he's going to relish the feeling of skin-to-skin contact that only gets to happen when it's the four of them and he has a Soulmate's touch to steady and temper all the auras around him.

-

When they enter the restaurant, Sky finds that while it's definitely not McDonald's, and it's not exactly the fanciest place in the world either, it has a definite sort of bizarre charm that places it directly in some timeless, though vaguely vintage place. The theme is the jungle and a waiter walking by is wearing zebra-print pants, an orange baseball cap, and a green t-shirt with the logo emblazoned across the front. It's not exactly the kind of place that Sky would have suggested, but the smile on Bridge's face as he directs them to a table makes Sky want to spend every dates here possible until the end of time itself.

They sit down at a six-seater table on the right side of the main room, Jack and Sky on one side with Bridge between the girls on the other side. Sky and Z are sitting across from each other, Bridge and Jack are sitting across from each other, and Syd's purse is sitting on the last seat.

The waitress- she has dark-purple-dyed hair, olive skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes, and is probably somewhere around seventeen or eighteen years old- walks up to the table and seems to immediately recognize Bridge from the way her eyes light up. Sky's deductions are confirmed a moment later when she opens her mouth to speak.

"Bridge!" Abby says with a grin, "Good to see you again!"

Bridge smiles. “Hey, Abby!” Bridge says. "How's Aunt Lily and Uncle Theo?"

"Mom and Dad are great," Abby says, "Thanks for asking. I'll let them know you said hi." She glances over their group. "Do you guys want a menu, or do you know what you want to order yet?"

Bridge looks around at his Soulmates, none of which have even had a chance to glance at a menu, and is about to ask for more time to think about it- Sky can actually see Bridge's mouth open to speak- but then Z turns to Bridge, smiles, and asks: "What do you recommend, Bridge?"

"For a group with appetites as big as ours?" Bridge answers immediately, "Two larges, one mushroom-pepperoni and the other RJ's Claw Special, an order of garlic knots, and drinks for everyone."

"Then that's what we'll go with," Sky says, then glances around at his Soulmates, "As long as you guys are all okay with it?"

Jack shrugs. "I'm pretty sure I can trust Bridge's judgement."

Z nods and gives Abby a smile. "Sounds good to me."

Syd actually grins as Abby jots down a couple of quick notes on a pad of paper. "The Claw Special's actually pretty good. Surprised me last time when Bridge brought me here."

Abby then swiftly collects drink orders before turning to go, but Bridge stops her, leaning across the table. “Is Uncle Casey around?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “Of course he is,” she says, “He always is. He does help run the place, after all.”

“Do you think we can see him tonight?” Bridge asks. “Only Syd has met him before, and I think the rest of my Soulmates would get a kick out of it.”

“Sure,” Abby says, “I'll send them out when I go back to place your orders.”

Bridge grins. “Thanks!” He says as he settled back into a seat.

As Abby walks away, Sky turns to Bridge. “Who's Casey?” He asks.

“He and his Soulmate own Jungle Karma Pizza,” Z says. “Bridge has told us that plenty of times-”

She falls quiet as a familiar lump settles in Sky’s throat. It isn't very often that his Soulmates remind him of the fact that they spent a good fifteen years writing to each other before he ever got a chance to be a part of the relationship, but sometimes it hits him, and it hits him hard. Z is talking about this man Casey's identity like it's an established fact of the world, and to Sky's Soulmates it probably is.

Jack puts a gentle hand on top of Sky's. “Casey is a good friend of Bridge’s Aunt Fran,” he says, “He’s married to the guy who owns Jungle Karma Pizza. Casey manages a dojo downtown, but often ends up helping out at JKP's a lot."

"Thanks for the info," Sky says, and he _is_ genuinely grateful. 

A man exits the kitchen seconds later and heads over to their table. He looks incredibly familiar. If Sky didn't know better, he would swear that he'd seen that face before somewhere. But of course he hasn't- this is Casey, someone who is very very important to Bridge, but Sky never got the chance to find that out previous to tonight.

“Bridge!” the man says with an easy grin, “Did you bring all your Soulmates with you this time? I recognize the lovely Syd, but who are these newcomers?”

Bridge smiles proudly as he points to each of them, introducing them to Casey. “Sky Tate, Jack Landors, Z Delgado, and, of course, you met Syd last time.”

“Sky Tate,” Casey says, “I recognize that name from your e-comms. Is that your new Soulmate?”

Bridge nods. "This is Sky right here." He gestures at Sky, who offers Casey a small smile.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Sky says, offering up a hand, and Casey shakes. "It's a bit of a long story as to how we got here-"

“Don’t worry, kid,” Casey says with a dismissive wave. "Remind me to tell you what weird Soulmate things me and _my_ team got up to in our time."

Wait a minute. _His_ team? Team of what? He wasn’t an S.P.D. Ranger, if he’s the same age as Bridge’s Aunt Fran- the team at the time he could have been a Ranger was Sky’s dad’s, and Sky has all their names memorized. And besides, Casey seems to be from Ocean Bluff, and-

Then everything clicks.

“Wait a moment!” Sky declares, finally figuring out where he knows Casey's face from. “You're the Red Ranger of the Jungle Fury team. I recognize your face from The Archives.”

Casey gives him a smile. “Bridge, you've got some pretty smart Soulmates here.”

“You're Casey Rhodes,” Z says, jaw dropping as she leans back in her seat. “You defeated Dai Shi back in 2008!”

“Yeah,” Bridge says, “I remember learning all about it as a toddler. Aunt Fran says I thought he was the coolest thing in the world.”

“And you obviously followed me and your uncle's footsteps, becoming a Power Ranger and all,” Casey says, and Bridge’s soulmates turned to look at him.

“Bridge,” Jack says, “Who is your Aunt Fran’s soulmate?”

Bridge grins. “Why, her soulmate is my Uncle Dom. Full name Dominic Harrigan.”

“Your uncle is the White Rhino Ranger?” Syd nearly shouts, and the lump in Sky's heart goes away a little bit when he realizes that he's not the only one who's out of the loop on this particular issue.

Bridge nods. “And Casey’s Soulmate is the Violet Wolf Ranger.”

“You’re Bonded to Robert James?” Jack gasps. “He’s said to be one of the best mentors in Ranger history!”

Casey laughs. “RJ was a pretty good mentor, but don’t tell him you heard it from me. Our time as a team was quite the adventure, and it wasn't just because we fought a ten-thousand-year-old demon using giant glowing animal spirits."

Sky- and from the looks of the slightly awed, slightly confused looks on his Soulmates' faces, everyone else at the table- tries to process the image of this thirty-something-year-old man summoning his Zord by using an animal spirit and fighting an actual demon. It's certainly an interesting intellectual exercise, to be sure.

Then Bridge says, “Casey and the team worked here at JKP's while they were fighting Dai Shi,” and Sky has to add to that mental picture with Casey flipping pizzas in between fights with, once again, _an actual demon._

“But I think that you and your Soulmates deserve a date without an old man like me watching over you,” Casey says, and quickly moves around the table, shaking everybody's hand in turn. “I'm going to let you go, Bridge, but I hope your Soulmates all know that they're welcome here anytime.” He fixes each of them with a quick, intimidating look. “As long as they treat you right.”

“You won't have to worry about that, sir,” Sky says, “I promise.”

Casey’s smile is an old one, holding secrets that Sky suspects only come with age. “I believe you, kid,” Casey says, then gives him a small wave before heading off back to the kitchen.

"Well," Jack says, “Casey's right. This date is supposed to be about us five, not whatever war stories his family friends have- though we probably will badger him for them at a later date-”

“-And I’m very okay with that,” Bridge says, hands reaching under the table to hold Z and Syd’s.

"So let's start talking," Jack says, "Anyone got anything to talk about?"

Syd grins. "You only had to say the word, honey." She leans in slightly with that smirk on her face that she always gets when she's about to unload some kind of gossip on them all. Sky holds back the urge to smile at that mannerism that used to annoy him but he now only sees as endearing. "So, have any of you heard that Cadet Rocca down in C-Squad grew actual trees in the gym because one of the other cadets on her squad insulted the Mage of Briarwood?"

"Isn't Briarwood the town Mystic Force went down in?" Z asks, raising her index finger in question, and Syd nods.

As the conversation flows around him, Sky relaxes just a bit in his chair. There is nothing he loves better in this world than seeing his Soulmates happy and smiling like this- Syd in her element, talking up a storm, Bridge leaning his head against Z's shoulder, Z defending Cadet Rocca's standing up for the outcasts, and Jack interjecting with ideas of his own, occasionally backing up Z's points and sometimes expanding on Cadet Rocca's past.

And Sky himself gets in on the conversation too, all doubts eventually wiping themselves from his head as his focus pulls itself to his Soulmates' smiles, the topic of conversation at hand, and the smell of pizza and garlic knots wafting out from the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Is this needless wish fulfillment that has Casey Rhodes show up because he's one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, Red Rangers of all time? Maybe. Is this a needless one-shot that character builds and relationship builds and provides insight into the five Rangers after Grumm's defeat? Maybe. Is this a needless story that expands on Bridge's background slightly and folds this 'verse into itself and provides world-building for this 'verse? Maybe. Is this just an excuse to introduce a couple of my OCs for this 'verse that will become important later on- namely, Dani Rocca and Abby Martin? Maybe. 
> 
> To be honest, the answers to none of these questions really matter. I had fun with this, and I hope you all got some kind of enjoyment out of it as well. 'Til next time!


End file.
